Chennai dazzles with festive look on Ganesh Chathurthi day celebrations. The city comes alive to celebrate Ganesh Chathurthi, the Hindu festival honoring the elephant-headed god Ganesha. Large colorful clay idols of Ganesha are placed around the city at street corners and under thatched roofs called 'Pandals' for worship for 10 days. People decorate their homes and cook traditional vegetarian offerings to celebrate the festival. After 10 days, the idols are immersed in local water bodies. The first day of the celebrations is a public holiday in many Indian states where it is celebrated with great enthusiasm.

1. Chennai dazzles with festive look on
Ganesh Chathurthi day celebrations
It’s that day ofthe year again when the whole city of Chennai comes alive like the restofIndia, with the
routine, monotonous and serpentine queues ofoffice-goers’ vehicles occupying the roads on normal days,
replaced by buzzing,energetic religious faithfuls gearing up for the festivities, making hurried last minute
trips to the market place to buy the essentials; when ubiquitous, huge clay-made and colorfully painted
idols ofthe Hindu God Ganesha occupy many a street corner; and when enthusiastic housewives decorate

2. their households with traditional adornings and cook equally traditional and ethnic delicacies as offerings to
Lord Ganesha and treat themselves to the leftovers !!!! The day is ‘Ganesh Chathurthi’ and the main Hero
is the Elephant headed Indian god ‘Ganesha’, one who is both revered as well as adored by people ofall
age groups over the millenniums in the Indian subcontinent.
According to the Hindu calendar, Ganesh Chathurthi starts on the ‘Shukla Chaturthi’ (fourth day of the
waxing moon period) in the month of ‘Bhaadrapada’ and ends after a period of 10 days on the ‘Anant
Chaturdashi’ (fourteenth day of the waxing moon period).
The presentday version ofthe celebration includes huge clay made idols ofGanesha keptunder thatched
roofs called ‘Pandals’ and worshipped for the said 10 days after which they will be immersed in water
bodies such as lakes or even seas in the case ofseaside cities like Mumbai and Chennai. During the
festivities, Lord Ganesha is adorned with garlands made ofBermuda grass and a shrub flower ‘Calotropis
gigantea’ known as ‘Erukkam poo’ in the Tamil language. Also traditional vegetarian sweets and savouries
are prepared athome to provide the much needed culinary and gastronomical angle to the celebrations.
During earlier years, the massive Ganesha idols were used to be made ofplaster ofParis, buttheir
immersion in seas and lakes were a cause of serious concern for environmentalists resulting in the Tamil
Nadu state Governmentenforcing a strict ban on idols made ofplaster ofParis. Today one can witness
Ganesha idols made ofclay and papier-mâché alone as these two pose no serious threatto the
environment. The first day ofthe celebrations is a declared holiday in many Indian states notable among
them being Maharashtra, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Rajasthan where the
festival is celebrated with much fervor.
Vijay Ram